Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Introduction. From the beginning, God has watched all infants grow into adults. Many, like Cain had an unrealistic sense of their own wisdom and refused to submit to God, bringing upon themselves the curse of eternal condemnation. Others, as Noah, aware of their weaknesses, trusted God and gained the blessing of eternal glory.

Jesus began His sermon on the Mount with those characteristics God knew would bring blessings and glory to us. He chose “blessed” to describe what these things bring. “Blessed” was used to congratulate those who had gained honor and praise due to success. As a valedictorian is “blessed” for academic achievement at graduation, because it will enhance and bring success to their life, so Jesus pronounced a similar blessing on those who are “poor in spirit.” Being poor in spirit brings success and honor to those who possess it, and God created the kingdom for them.

How poor are we? Jesus had two words to choose from. The “poor” who had to work for a living (pénēs) and the poor with no way to work who “begged” (ptōchós) to survive. Which word characterizes our service to God? Do we believe we can work or do we believe we must beg? Jesus actually chose the latter word. We are blessed and prepared for success only when we understand that our relationship to God is one of begging. We have no means to work. Without Jesus dying and paying the debt of sin, no work of ours could help. Both before and after we obey the gospel, we can’t work for salvation. We are “reduced to beggary,” and can only “ask alms” of God. Put another way, we are “dead in trespasses and sins” and “by nature children of wrath” and no work of ours can change that. All we can do is beg God for mercy, submit to His conditions, and wait for Him to act. Hence the hard work God has asked of us is not to earn salvation. We can’t remove this poverty no matter how hard we work or how much we accomplish.

Paul was “poor in spirit” his entire life. His work as an apostle did not remove his poverty: “I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle.” His obedience to the gospel and subsequent service to God did not remove it either: “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given.” (1Cor. 15:9-10; Eph. 3:8). Paul could not work off his debt to God. What Christ did for him made him rich, but did not change his own poverty. Although he labored more than the other apostles it didn’t alleviate his poverty either: “I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God.” Have we worked harder or are we better than Paul? No matter how long we serve God, and no matter what we accomplish, we can’t lose this poverty. It is never us! It is the grace of God who paid the debt and made our meager service worthy of eternal life.

As only an empty cup can be filled, so only a destitute spirit can be filled with God. That is the blessedness! Those who are destitute can fully “trust in the Lord with all their heart,” and never “lean on their own understanding” because they are well aware they have nothing to offer. We know “it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps,” so we want God to direct us. We should never stop begging! We plead with God for forgiveness, for our food, clothing and shelter. We beg for wisdom and for the ability to do His will on earth as it is done in heaven. We know without His divine power we could not earn or gain them. Jesus is not removing our need to work, but any sense that we have earned or deserve our salvation because of it.

God has said this in many different ways: “Thus says the LORD: Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. ... on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.” (Isa. 66:2). "The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Ps. 34:18). “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart– these, O God, You will not despise.” (Ps. 51:17). “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isa. 57:15)

Blessed are those who are “poor and contrite", “trembling at My word,” with a “broken heart,” and a ”broken and humble spirit.” When our heart/spirit is broken, contrite, humble, and trembling at His word, we feel our spiritual destitution and gratefully submit to God who has taken pity on us.

This is the contrast of the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. The Pharisee was working: “I am not like other men I fast twice a week; give tithes.” The publican was begging: “standing afar off, would not raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!” Jesus concluded the parable with two important lessons. First, “this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.” Second, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Lk. 18:9-14)

Those who are poor in spirit recognize this and act accordingly. We read “we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” “We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” (Isa. 64:6-8). All we can say is Amen. We are not better. Even with the blood of Christ, our situation has not improved. After each sin we must confess and plead with God (beg) for forgiveness. If we lose this sense of destitution, we are in grave danger. Jesus warned us that even obeying the gospel doesn’t change this. We don’t earn anything when we obey the gospel. We are still destitute and only “unprofitable servants.” “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” (Lk 17:10). Any wealth gained by the gospel will always be a gift from God and we must never stop seeing ourselves as unprofitable servants.

Conclusion. God created the gospel and the kingdom of heaven for those who are poor (destitute) in spirit. He made certain that only the poor in spirit would obey the gospel and only the poor in spirit could remain faithful through all their years of service. We must never “glory in our wisdom,” or “glory in our might,” or “glory in our riches!” Our only glory is God’s “delight” that we “glory that he understands and knows Me.” (Jer. 9:23-24).

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence,” “as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” (1Cor. 1:18-31)

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